Figure 4.12 from Quantum Organizations
Subunit Interactions and Processes
A Brief Description of the Figure from Quantum Organizations
Every subunit in the organization, at any level (SBU, department, or group), involves many interactions by which people perform tasks in order to achieve objectives. As Figure 4.12 illustrates, these interactions include exchanges between subunits (inputs, outputs, feedback) and within subunits (including value-added processes and mid-course corrections). Value-added is when people perform only those tasks that achieve strategic objectives. Now for the main question: What is the basis for choosing which combinations of objectives, tasks, and people become subunits in an organization? Thompson’s (1967) insights into task flow -- how the performance of one task depends on the results of another -- are still the most useful for answering this question.